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Ankeny Tracks Kids Food Choices

I dont know if I consider monitoring if a kid eats salad bar, hot lunch or brings their own lunch as being big brother. I guess I just consider it as a way of seeing just how many kids are eating what the school has to offer. I know my daughter eats salad bar each time a lunch she doesnt like is offered.
 
cyadict said:
I dont know if I consider monitoring if a kid eats salad bar, hot lunch or brings their own lunch as being big brother. I guess I just consider it as a way of seeing just how many kids are eating what the school has to offer. I know my daughter eats salad bar each time a lunch she doesnt like is offered.
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yeah, I guess I don't see why monitoring meals is a big deal. Seems like it's more to check on the school than it is to check on the kids. The pin number thing seems overly complicated, though. Don't kids have lunch cards anymore?
 
When the kids go to the lunch room, their teachers are with them and have a sheet with all their pin numbers on them in case the kids cant remember the number. There are no lunch cards for the kids. My daughter says this way is a lot better because there is no card to misplace like most kids do.
 
Mr Janny said:
yeah, I guess I don't see why monitoring meals is a big deal. Seems like it's more to check on the school than it is to check on the kids. The pin number thing seems overly complicated, though. Don't kids have lunch cards anymore?
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My old school started using the computerized pin # system back in the mid to late 90's. It actually did speed up the lines.
 
cyadict said:
When the kids go to the lunch room, their teachers are with them and have a sheet with all their pin numbers on them in case the kids cant remember the number. There are no lunch cards for the kids. My daughter says this way is a lot better because there is no card to misplace like most kids do.
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Ok, so there's no chance of a kid not being able to eat lunch if they forget their number.

I guess I don't see a problem, then.
 
isuaggie said:
My old school started using the computerized pin # system back in the mid to late 90's. It actually did speed up the lines.
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yeah, it makes sense now. I was confused by this line from the article
My children have to memorize a four-digit PIN if they want to eat lunch at school,
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Made it sound like if the kid couldn't remember his/her PIN, they didn't eat. Appears to be making a mountain out of a molehill.
 
Mr Janny said:
yeah, it makes sense now. I was confused by this line from the article

Made it sound like if the kid couldn't remember his/her PIN, they didn't eat. Appears to be making a mountain out of a molehill.
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Fox kind of has a track of turning things that aren't really bad, or a big deal into a HUGE deal.
 
Another thing new this year, that I like, is allowing the kids to choose what kind of fruits and veggies they want as they go through the serving line. Looking at Ankeny's menu, for example on the 16th, my son can choose either a banana or applesauce for his fruit and in addition to having peas for a veggie.

I don't have a problem with the PIN number.

Mr Janny said:
Don't kids have lunch cards anymore?
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Not the kind that I had in school that I had to present every day to be punched. Prior to this year, my son, who's in 3rd grade, had a credit card looking thing that the his teacher kept that would be scanned by a computer if he was eating hot lunch that day.
 
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Seems like a good idea - but families should clearly have the option to opt-out.

Side question - since when are 5 and 7 y/o's given an option of what to eat? Going back decades to when I was in elementary, you got in line and got what you got. There were no options.

In high school we had standard lunches, then an ala-carte line - which I'm sure was a nutritional nightmare.
 
It's a little disturbing that they are tracking indiviual's food choices


I mean I'm pretty sure ISU tracked what was consumed at the dining centers, but in general terms, not in a way that is tied to an individual

That allowed them to track food consuption and get some nutrition ideas without tracking an indiviual's consumption
 
DaddyMac said:
Seems like a good idea - but families should clearly have the option to opt-out.

Side question - since when are 5 and 7 y/o's given an option of what to eat? Going back decades to when I was in elementary, you got in line and got what you got. There were no options.

In High School we had standard lunches, then an ala-carte line - which I'm sure was a nutritional nightmare.
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At least in the elementary schools, new this year is that all students, regardless of grade, can choose to through the salad bar if that's what they want. Last year it was only 4th & 5th graders who were able to go through the salad bar.
 
garn91 said:
At least in the elementary schools, new this year is that all students, regardless of grade, can choose to through the salad bar if that's what they want. Last year it was only 4th & 5th graders who were able to go through the salad bar.
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I probably came off overly critical there - after reading your first post, I suppose it really depends what choices they are given. Veggie A or Veggie B, this fruit or that - seems fine.

As I said above, my only experience was in our high school's ala cart - which was pure crap. Pizza, fries and the like. There were a few "better" items - but rarely if ever bought.

I don't think such options should be given to kids in that 5 -7 range.

I don't have kids, but I am a bit concerned about these things if we ever did. Watch the movie "Super Size Me" - had alot of good info on some school districts outsourcing their food programs. And often to a near mall food court type of fast food selection. That movie is also a good motivator for those who want to go on a diet. :yes:
 
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Only Big Brother if the kids get a stern talking to, or in trouble for their eating choices. Otherwise you could use it just for logistical purposes as well.

As for PINs... we used PINs for lunches starting in middle school. I don't even remember what we used to do before that in elementary school (it was also a different district).
 
edr247 said:
Only Big Brother if the kids get a stern talking to, or in trouble for their eating choices. Otherwise you could use it just for logistical purposes as well.

As for PINs... we used PINs for lunches starting in middle school. I don't even remember what we used to do before that in elementary school (it was also a different district).
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Agree with your first para... If I were a parent, I might like this and would even perhaps like seeing a report of what they are eating. If the school district took it upon itself to somehow hold me accountable, that's another story.

As for us - we had punch cards for the set meals - and cash for the ala carte type things. Never had a pin system (I'm old, we barely had ATMs)
 
DaddyMac said:
Seems like a good idea - but families should clearly have the option to opt-out.

Side question - since when are 5 and 7 y/o's given an option of what to eat? Going back decades to when I was in elementary, you got in line and got what you got. There were no options.

In high school we had standard lunches, then an ala-carte line - which I'm sure was a nutritional nightmare.
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Whole new world, old man.
 
At my old high school we had the pin number accounts. You could even go and get a print out of what you had ate/spent for the past months. I thought that it was pretty cool actually. Actually now that I think about it the pin number school lunch thing went back to when I was in 5th grade, so 12 years ago I was using a pin code for lunch. It was pretty simple because there was no lunch card to lose or misplace and it cut down on the paper usage for these cards.
 
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